Monday, September 24, 2012

Saturday, January 7, 2012

An incredibly cool and original café in Bangalore. Owner Prabhu is in one of the shots, the guy in the dark striped shirt. He's been collecting bikes and scooters for years and has put them together in a bright space on the 1st floor above his charming-as-hell café, where he plays vinyl and sells coffee at Rs.15 a cup. Everything about the place is a statement. So refreshing to see an un-designed new establishment that's dripping with cool, a respectable entrant to Bangalore's scene...

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

CONTEXTOMY | Rick Hirtle

Contextomy refers to an style of quoting in which a passage is removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning. In this series a similar practice has been applied by removing a subject from its surrounding in such a way as to obscure the original context. Thus everyday peculiarities become laden with mystery, comedy or even vulgarity. It’s on this basis that Rick has built a collection of images that include such varying subjects as a visa office bathroom in Hong Kong, a lone cow in a desolate stretch of the Australian outback, a handicapped person in Tokyo, an armed drunken man in China, a stray cat on a Mumbai commuter train and other pictures mashed together to present stories that are intriguing but far from obvious.

About the artist... Rick Hirtle is a professional documentary and commercial photographer from Toronto, Canada who specializes in making unrestricted images with a focus on social outsiders and human issues. He has traveled extensively around the globe in pursuit of his personal work. His photographs have appeared in countless exhibitions in Australia, Asia and North America. Most recently in the Born Into This Show presented by the Scion Automotive Corporation in Toronto, Canada. For more please visit www.rickhirtle.com

Friday, May 20, 2011

In 1988, the building project of the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra state commissioned the office of architect Raj Rewal to design 1048 housing units. Despite a very low budget Rewal set out to develop a home environment that was simple and of high quality.

The site of the project is hilly, and unlike most other developments in New Mumbai, it has been designed embracing the terrain rather than trying to defeat it. For this reason it has been considered an important architectural example in a city where the design of public housing is driven solely by the ability to accommodate density.

23 years later, many of the units remain vacant. Most are facing practical problems of leakages, inadequate light and ventilation in houses, unused open spaces, lack of transportation, lack of medical facilities, etc.Since the Income Tax department bought most of the buildings, this colony was nicknamed the Income Tax Colony.

These pictures are not the entire story, they are just a part to create awareness and re-tell a forgotten tale. Abandoned spaces are a postlude to a life once lived and therefore make for good stories. There is no intention to document this structure. This on the contrary is the photographer’s own artistic expression.

Abandoned, whilst capturing the mood of the space, does raise the inevitable question about why such a well-intentioned and designed project has come to be largely unoccupied and fallen to disrepair, in a city severely lacking in low cost housing.

Deepshikha Jain

After graduating in Architecture from Bombay, Deepshikha Jain pursued a Master’s in Photography from Paris. She can easily be seen as a hybrid, having embraced one world without abandoning the other. She has exhibited in the Paris gallery Chambre Avec Vues and has toured widely across France and India capturing Le- Corbusier’s works. She has also traveled widely across Africa and Europe, at times just to see why a certain piece of Architecture is so rated and at times to be mesmerized by it.

Limited edition

Prints available:

·Small prints in editions of 15 at Rs.6000

·Large prints in editions of 10 at Rs.9000.

For print sales please ask at the café or contact Deepshikha on 098198 51510 / ar.deepshikhajain@gmail.com

About

The Kala Ghoda Café is an intimate space in the heart of Mumbai's art district. It is set in an early 20th century barn. The roof height is great, allowing for the original brick walls to be used as a photo space. The gallery is blessed with ample light during the day, but is nonetheless kitted out with a sophisticated lighting system to view prints under optimum conditions. The café from the outset was conceived as an alternative to the chain-café experience for the Colaba/Fort/Churchgate triangle, and has been designed as an informal, friendly local hangout. We like to use locally sourced ingredients where possible, and make our own blend of the finest certified organic shade grown arabica and robusta coffee varieties, selected for their spicy notes, bold-yet-smooth taste, and ability to produce persistent crema. All our coffees are sourced directly from plantations which engage in sustainable practices. For our decaf selection, we choose Italian blends that can offer an acceptable body and crema. Light healthy food, teas and infusions are also served. Current menus are available on www.kgcafe.in/menus.html.